This year will be pivotal for the U.S. FAA as it works with industry and the international aviation community to implement far-reaching regulatory and organizational changes. FAA administrator Michael Huerta noted that changes are afoot at the agency in a speech titled “Redefining Business as Usual” before the Aero Club of Washington in September, saying the agency has taken a step back to evaluate how it has approached its business.

“The fact is, aviation has never stood still. And the pace of change is only going to keep accelerating. That means we need to get comfortable with always being a little uncomfortable,” he said. “But as I’ve challenged our teams at the FAA to think differently, I’ve seen some promising results.”

The FAA’s recently released Part 23 rule is a key example of this paradigm shift, moving certification from prescriptive requirements outlined by the agency to a performance-based approach. It released the rule outlining the new Part 23 last month, and the new requirements will be implemented this year, starting with the release of guidance materials for agency inspectors, education of the industry and coordination with international regulators.

The European Aviation Safety Agency has already issued a notice of proposed amendment on the certification changes and is expected to release its final decision implementing the new light aircraft standards early this year. The international community will turn to other regulators that have participated in the rewrite effort—aviation authorities from China, Canada and Australia and New Zealand—to harmonize the new performance-based approach, said Walter Desrosier, v-p of engineering and maintenance for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.

As the new approach takes root, it is expected to have a ripple effect in future rulemaking covering not only light aircraft but also Parts 25 and 27, which oversee transport-category aircraft and helicopters. A review has long been under way to see how regulators can take a new performance-based approach to other areas of certification.

One early implementation may involve standards for business aircraft interiors, Desrosier noted. Part 25 interior requirements were written for and tailored to higher-occupancy air transport aircraft. This has led to a series of special conditions, exemptions and other certification efforts for business jet interiors that do not conform with the standard passenger interior.

The EASA published a notice of proposed amendment a little more than a year ago to accommodate new interior standards for business jets, and a final opinion is anticipated this year. Desrosier noted that the FAA participated in an EASA working group on the new standards and could begin a similar effort this year.

While the FAA work continues in the area of certification, industry leaders are hoping to see progress this year in the area of Part 135 training. The Air Carrier and Contract Training Working Group has developed recommendations that are designed to improve the quality of Part 135 training. The recommendations center on building more flexibility between the training provider and operator into the training curriculum, rather than requiring the operator to adhere strictly to a pre-set standard training program. This would ensure that the operator’s specific needs are met. The recommendations also seek a data-driven approach to ensure the right areas of training are incorporated. Bill Deere, executive v-p of government and external affairs for the National Air Transportation Association, noted that the working group will work with the FAA on implementation of the recommendations.

The FAA is expected to consider implementing some of the recommendations through policy changes to the extent possible, added Doug Carr, vice president of regulatory and international affairs for NBAA, but some changes might require formal rulemaking, he noted.

The FAA has also been working on a proposal to ensure that Part 121 air carrier training programs address mentoring, leadership and professional development. The FAA released the proposal in October, and the comment period closes early this month. While intended for Part 121 operations—the proposal was congressionally mandated in the aftermath of the 2009 Colgan Air accident—some requirements apply to Part 135 and 91K operators that comply with certain Part 121 training requirements and use two crewmembers.

While the broader 135 and 91 community is not included, the proposal comes as business aviation has intensified its focus on professionalism and is making a strong push to emphasize compliance and data-sharing.

The FAA has a number of other congressionally mandated rules on its plate this year. The agency has outlined a schedule to release a proposal that would require drug and alcohol testing for certain foreign repair station employees. In the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act, Congress mandated the drug and alcohol testing requirements for foreign repair station employees. The agency was under a 2013 deadline to release the proposal, but didn’t release the advance notice of proposed rulemaking until 2014. While scheduled for release this year, the proposal might be delayed further.

Flight and duty time limits also remain on the FAA’s agenda this year. The agency has long been working on requirements to apply flight and duty requirements for commercial operations to tail-end ferry flights as well. The schedule would publish both a proposed rulemaking for Part 121 operations and an advance notice of proposed rulemaking for Part 135 this year.

With the new Part 107 regulations for small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) released last year, the FAA is expected to turn to large UAS this year, noted Carr. An aviation rulemaking committee is expected to start up early this year, focusing on UAS that weigh more than 55 pounds and operate beyond line of sight.

Cutting through the Red Tape

As the FAA works with the industry on these rulemaking efforts it continues to focus on internal improvements. Two key initiatives to help with its consistency in regulatory interpretation are anticipated to come to fruition this year.

One involves a readily searchable library of all FAA regulations, guidance material and other documents. Desrosier notes that these documents have existed in multiple locations but were not necessarily readily searchable or accessible. Some of the documents were found only in paper form, he added. This led to inconsistent interpretations by inspectors because they were accessing different documents. The central database, which is in prototype stage but is expected to become more functional this year, puts those documents in one location, ensuring that the industry and agency officials are working from the same set of documents.

The second initiative is the development of the Regulatory Consistency Communication Board (RCCB), which provides a central board for industry and the FAA to resolve questions and disputes. The FAA hopes to put out a final order that would formally implement the board's operations this year.

These efforts are a high priority for a cross section of industry. “We will be working to ensure the FAA continues to provide robust support for implementation,” said Deere.

The FAA has set in motion another major initiative that it calls “AIR Transformation” or the transformation of its aircraft certification service (AIR). This transformation is designed to address long-held concerns about the cumbersome, bureaucratic process that attends certifying products. The transformation involves the use of more risk-based oversight and expanded use of an organization designation authorization program, Desrosier said.

But it will also reorganize the AIR, he added. The FAA’s Flight Standards Service is looking to reorganize too, Flight Standards director John Duncan told NATA members last year. But he stressed that a culture shift must accompany all these changes. “Changing the structure of the organization could be an important piece,” he said. “But changing the structure and applying the same culture might not have a successful outcome.”

The industry is working on other issues this year, such as preservation of airports, in response specifically to efforts to close or restrict activity at airports in Santa Monica, Calif., and East Hampton, N.Y. The U.S. courts recently rebuffed East Hampton’s efforts to restrict operations, while the FAA has issued a cease and desist order to prevent Santa Monica from evicting service providers. The fight at both these locations will continue this year.  Deere praised the FAA’s efforts at Santa Monica, saying, “This is the agency at its best, defending a regulatory structure that recognizes and preserves the integrity of airports, and encourages operational safety and healthy airport businesses.”

“It’s going to be a busy year for the FAA,” said Carr.